y
only success seems to be that I have a pretty head. It is good to be
beautiful, perhaps, but I have always thought that I would sacrifice my
beauty for a chance of sharing in noble deeds."

A butterfly that had stopped to listen now spoke to her:

"You have waited and now you will have your reward. For surely your
body will be taken to help in the work that is going forward. The
flax-people have indeed lived to good purpose."

"They certainly do not seem afraid to die," said the boy to himself.

And as if in answer to his whispered thought the little flax-fairy said:

"Of course we are not afraid! I have been told that there are giants of
men who really think that when they leave their worn-out stalks--bodies
they call them--behind, they live no more, or at least are not sure what
becomes of themselves. But it cannot be true--it must be a fairy story!"
laughed the little elf. "They must know, as we know, that all things
sleep awhile and then take new bodies like dresses woven while they
worked in their last awaking which men call life. And then one day we
know that we shall have woven dresses so fine that we shall be free to
leave them as the butterfly leaves his dull-hued robes and spreads his
bright wings for flight into the grand unknown which we all long to
know."

"But _how_ do you know that these things are so?" asked the boy.

"How do I know that I am alive?" answered the flax-fairy in a murmur.
Fainter grew the voices and the vision faded from the boy's sight.

He knew not how long it was he stayed there, but after awhile he awoke
with a start to find that Eline was no longer with him, and that he had
slept among the flax in the sunshine.

IX

"It must have been a dream!" he said. But he did not believe it was a
dream--for all his words. And really the flowers seemed to him to bear a
new life after that wonderful vision which came to him when Eline gave
him for an hour the seeing eye.

Working with the others joyfully and happily without a moment's pause or
one thought of failure, they saw quickly growing an immense heap of
beautiful fine white thread. The children had helped the flax to grow
and now in turn it aided them to clear more ground.

For in no long time all was finished and before them they had a mighty
rope growing greater every day under their Leader's eye.

One strange thing there was about the rope. For there were golden
threads interwoven